Jain Spirit 2004 10 No 20

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 12

10 NEWS IN BRIEF
All Creatures Great and Small: Carla Lights Candle at Interfaith Service
The capacity to wonder
An Interfaith service in celebration of animals took place at Golders Green Unitarian Church, North London on 13 June 2004. Revd. Feargus O'Connor, the church's minister and joint organiser of the event, stressed that this was the first interfaith service of its kind to take place in the UK. The service was introduced by Andrew Burns, a member of the Governing Body of the World Congress of Faiths. In keeping with Unitarian tradition, a candle was lit and each speaker was asked to light a further candle. The first hymn was called 'Reverence for Life'.
Representatives of the Hindu, Jewish, Sikh and Buddhist traditions attended, bringing a range of perspectives, as did animal welfare campaigners such as Jackie Ballard of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), Phyllis Campbell-McRae of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (UK) and John Cooper of the League Against Cruel Sports. The well known television writer and animal rights campaigner Carla Lane lit a candle and read her own poems about her old cat called Wolfgang.
The keynote speaker was Revd. Professor Andrew Linzey, PhD DD, who called for renewed compassion for all life from the world's faiths and for us to find within us 'the capacity to wonder'. At the end of the talk, a border collie named Luludi seemed to bark in approval! The success of the service has prompted calls for it to be an annual event.
Making Waves from Across the Pond
Introducing Jain Spirit's new youth editor....
As of Issue 21 Falguni Patel will be passing the baton of Jain Spirit's Youth Editor to 16 year old Reana Leena Shah.
Falguni, who remains on our Board of Directors and editorial committee, has made the Youth Section a big favourite with our readers for 2 years so we would like to say an enormous thank you to her as well as an equally enormous welcome to Reana. The importance of the youth section can not be overestimated as it is here that we catch the eye of the future generation of Jains (and non) and it is here that we give these young people a forum to share their experiences of the modern world.
2010 ng
Reana, whose has a background of both Jainism and Christianity, is from Redlands in California. She, fittingly,
discovered her passion for Jainism around the same time that Jain Spirit was first published and from then on has been involved in raising money for various charities and has been inspired to write for us, her High School newspaper and on behalf of PETA. Of course, as youth editor we also wanted somebody who was in touch with their audience and I think Reana fits the bill citing her other passion as skin care and cosmetics. Although I haven't met her in person yet we are of course in constant correspondence being children of the email age! I asked her how she feels about the new role. She replied, "I am really excited to take up this new position and opportunity" and adds, "although a little nervous as I regard JS so highly and have always associated my religious faith with it." No worries Reana, we are also excited to have this fresh, talented and international addition to the team and are sure you will do a grand job. We may even get a few make up tips! Reana invites anyone interested in writing for the youth section to contact her on: youtheditor@jainspirit.org
BY REBECCA HOH